Support is requested for a scientific meeting organized by the American Association for Cancer Research, Inc. (AACR). The conference, entitled "Genetics of Cancer" will be held at the Hilton Head Marriott, Hilton Head, South Carolina, November 4-8, 1992. The Program Organizers for this conference are Drs. Raymond L. White and Webster K. Cavenee. This conference will bring to the attention of both laboratory and clinical scientists the most recent finding on the processes critical to the genetic origin of human malignancies. The invited speakers are well-known investigators in this field. They will make 30-60 minute presentations. Approximately 150-175 other conference registrants will have the opportunity to present their own novel work during poster sessions. The purpose of this conference is to: (1) examine the present state of knowledge of the genes whose defects cause cancer predisposition in families; (2) to evaluate the significance of genetic alterations that occur in the somatic lineages and not in the germline, and; (3) to discuss genetic mechanisms which have been uncovered in other organisms or cell systems and which may play roles in some of the as yet unexplained features of human cancer. We feel that this is an especially appropriate time to pause and take stock of the major achievements of the past few years and to evaluate them in light of novel insights being gathered in the mechanisms of mitosis, genetic stability, cell differentiation, and programmed cell death. This meeting may, then, play a significant role in crystallizing new multidisciplinary approaches to cancer etiology. Participants will be drawn from a variety of scientific areas and all levels of training from graduate students to senior basic scientists or clinical investigators. It is therefore anticipated that the conference will result in a fruitful exchange of information that will enrich current research and suggest new conceptual insights into the genesis and propagation of the neoplastic state.